She's Back For Good?
by TotalFanGirl221B
Summary: *Shirene* And I don't wanna fill this in because of spoilers. Don't ruin it! The second chapter has been redone as I accidentally posted the wrong document! So you'll have to check it out! Sorry :(
1. Chapter 1

John could tell there was something bugging Sherlock. He had no idea what it could be as Sherlock was a very private man. Sherlock kept insisting everything was alright and that there was absolutely nothing wrong. This annoyed John because he didn't understand why he couldn't just admit something was bothering him. However, he wasn't going to bring it up because Sherlock would get incredibly annoyed and that would get John nowhere.

"Are you ready?" John asked as he poked his head around the living room door. He saw Sherlock sat at his desk thinking. His hands were placed together in prayer position and his fingertips rested nicely underneath his chin, holding his head up high. His eyes were closed and he'd shut off the world around him. "Sherlock, I asked if you were ready." John said louder which suddenly brought Sherlock back to reality. Sherlock slowly placed his hands down and looked over at John. He nodded and then pushed himself from the seat. "Right, let's go then. Lestrade and Molly are already at the restaurant." John smiled as they made their way down to the cab that was in front of the flat.

Sherlock smiled at Mary as he entered the car and then John accompanied him. The journey there was quite awkward as neither knew what to say. Occasionally Mary would say something that would trigger a small conversation, but, apart from that, there was just silence. They were relieved when they arrived at the restaurant so they'd be with more friends so they'd be able to indulge in more conversation. Mary didn't really know what to say to Sherlock; she had heard about the cases from John, but they didn't interest her as much as it did Sherlock and him. She would talk about them sometimes and compliment him for being so intelligent to catch the suspect, but they couldn't talk about anything else. Sherlock had heard about what Mary liked, but that didn't interest him either, so he wouldn't talk about it.

Lestrade and Molly smiled as they all walked over to the table. They stood up and shook each other's hands. Sherlock was getting annoyed already. He didn't understand why he had to go, but John wanted him to so he would be able to get to know Mary better. Whether he wanted to get to know her better or not, he didn't have a choice as she was going to be a big part in John's life and John wanted them to be able to get along at least. "Nice to see you, you look lovely." Lestrade smiled to Mary as they all sat down. Sherlock rolled his eyes and John quickly scowled at him to stop.

"Sherlock, how are you?" Molly smiled nervously at him.

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm good, good." Sherlock smiled and then a waiter came over to see if they had chosen what they would like.

"We haven't had a look yet, sorry." John smiled.

"Would you like any drinks?" the waiter smiled. Everyone apart from Sherlock ordered an alcoholic beverage. Sherlock just ordered water.

Soon the waiter had been with the drinks and the food and they were all in conversation. Even Sherlock had joined in a little which surprised almost everyone. However, soon he began to feel very hot. His heart pounded against his chest like a drum. He felt a little sweaty and faint. What was he to do? He couldn't eat anymore as he felt quite ill and he began to shake. Molly could see as she looked over that something was wrong, but when she asked he told her he was fine. She knew he wasn't, but she let herself shrug it off. Sherlock coughed a little and then a lot. "Sherlock, are you alright?" John asked. Sherlock nodded.

"I just need to go to the restroom, I won't be a moment." Sherlock had to get away quickly. He could feel his heart racing. He quickly got out of his chair and made his way to the toilets. He stumbled quite a bit on his way, but he managed to get there without collapsing.

He walked over to the sinks and placed his hands on the sides of one of them. He shook his head slowly. He was shaking like crazy. He quickly turned the cold tap on and then dipped his hands in it. Slowly, he rubbed his face with the cold water. This didn't really have much of an impact though as it was becoming increasingly hard just to stand up. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled gradually. He then tried to walk back to the door, but he just couldn't. His legs could no longer hold his weight. All of his muscles suddenly turned to jelly. He tried to speak but no words could come out. He went to grab a hold of something, but he was too weak to get a grip of anything. He collapsed onto his back. His eyes slowly rolled into the back of his head and he lay on the floor shaking.

_Sherlock opened his eyes. What he opened his eyes to was nothing. Absolutely nothing. There was just darkness; that was all. He didn't understand. He didn't know where he was. He sat up slowly and looked around. He still couldn't see anything. He tried to shout, but he had no voice. Then, suddenly, he heard something; a whisper. "Sherlock...? Sherlock? It's me. Can you hear me?" It was incredibly faint, and he thought it was quite far away. He turned around, but couldn't see anybody for miles. He sat wondering who was calling. "Sherlock? It's alright. Everything is alright." Sherlock had no idea who was talking or what they were talking about. "Sherlock, are you listening to me?" The voice had suddenly got close. Now it was whispering in his ear. "Sherlock..." he recognised it. "I missed you. I'm sorry this is how we meet again, I just didn't know how to get your attention." A hand was gently placed onto Sherlock's shoulder. He knew exactly who it was. He tried to speak, but he found it difficult still. He still felt dazed and ill, but not as before, this was different. He turned, but, still, there was no sign of anybody there. It felt like a ghost. "I know you'll forget this when you wake up properly, but try and remember." The voice continued to whisper. "Remember this." The voice faded and Sherlock was once again left alone bewildered to what had just happened. _

"Sherlock? Sherlock, can you hear me?" John slapped Sherlock's face gently a couple of times. He noticed that his eyes began to open and he was regaining consciousness. "He's alright," John turned to Lestrade behind him who then told everybody else. Sherlock gradually awakened. He blinked several times and then he began to see everything clearly. He moved his head to look in front of him and saw John. He also saw Mary, Lestrade and Molly and a lot of other people who had clearly heard that he'd collapsed in the restroom. "Are you alright?" John smiled with relief as he watched his friend try and figure out what just happened.

"Where... where is she?" John then seemed confused.

"What? Who? What are you talking about?"

"She was... she was here." Sherlock quickly sat up. John placed his hands on Sherlock's shoulders and made sure he didn't fall back down.

"Careful, careful. Who was here?"

"She was right... right..." John could see that Sherlock clearly wasn't with it and was drifting off once more. So, he nodded to Lestrade who then came and helped lift Sherlock up. The crowd that had formed outside of the bathroom made sure to ask if he was alright. John told them he just needed some rest. Then, Lestrade and he carried Sherlock to a cab. Molly smiled and hugged John goodbye. He apologised that it wasn't the evening they'd planned for.

"Well, I didn't even think Sherlock was going to turn up, so." Molly smiled. John smiled back and waved as she walked away. Lestrade placed Sherlock in the cab as Mary came over to see if everything was alright.

"Is he alright?" She smiled. John sighed.

"Yeah, he's...uh... I think he's fine. He probably just needs some rest." Mary nodded and they stood in silence for a moment. "Listen, Mary, I'm sorry if this ruined your evening, I am." Mary quickly shook her head.

"No, no John. I understand." She smiled. "He's your friend. Don't worry."

"So you're not upset?"

"Why would I be upset? We did have a nice evening until it happened, and it wasn't his or your fault so why should I be upset?" John smiled and kissed her gently on the lips. Then, he looked back over to Sherlock who was spread out of two of the seats in the cab. "Mary-"

"Yeah, you should stay with him tonight; make sure he's alright."

"Are you sure? I can come home if you want."

"He's your best friend, John! I'm not going to stop you!" John kissed her once more. He felt happy with Mary because she wasn't like the other girls he'd been with. She didn't get jealous if John went on a case with Sherlock instead of spending all day with her. She didn't mind him going because she understood that that's what he and Sherlock wanted to do.

Lestrade told Mary that he'd give her a lift home. John had offered for her to go in the cab, but Lestrade lived nearer to Mary's and John's home than Sherlock did, so she let him take her. So, John went with Sherlock in the cab home. John noticed that Sherlock had spoken a little while in the cab, he wasn't awake when he said them. John couldn't really make out what it was as most of it was mumble. However, he thought that it must have been something to do with the woman he had been talking about as he'd woken up. This puzzled John. Who could he have been talking about? And why would he bring it up? John decided he may as well stop asking himself these questions as he wouldn't get the answers until Sherlock woke, maybe not even then.

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**Thanks for reading :) if you could leave a review that'd be great :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Guys, I am so sorry! I accidentally posted the wrong document for this chapter! I apologise for not spotting this sooner! **

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Mary called John in the morning to see if everything was alright. He told her that Sherlock hadn't woken up at all since he'd arrived at the flat. "When will you be home?"

"Soon, hopefully." John sighed.

"You sound tired. Why didn't you get any sleep? Mrs Hudson still has the extra bedroom."

"I wanted to make sure Sherlock was alright." Mary sighed and nodded. "He's been acting strange for the past couple of days now; this has got to have something to do with it."

"Well, maybe he'll tell you when he wakes up." John chuckled. "Just make sure you come home soon." John smiled and then said goodbye.

As John hung up, Sherlock entered the living room. He was still wearing the same clothes as the night before, and he clearly had no idea what had happened. He seemed incredibly dazed and was holding onto the walls as he walked in so he didn't trip over his own feet. John jumped up as soon as he saw him walking in. "What... what happened?" Sherlock said as he rubbed his left eye.

"Well, uh, you collapsed." Sherlock looked puzzled for a moment. However, then sudden realisation hit him and he knew exactly what must have happened to him. Of course he didn't know every detail, but he knew who did it as they'd been trying to get in contact with him for a few days now. "I don't really know why," John continued. "But some guy found you lying in the bathroom."

"Oh..." Sherlock acted as if he didn't know who had done it or why as he walked over to his desk.

"There was one thing though," Sherlock paused and turned to John quickly. "You mentioned someone; a woman."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, not much, you just asked where she was or something. You said she was there. Does that mean anything to you?"

"I was probably delirious or something, I had just passed out." Sherlock shook his head.

"That's what I thought... But, it's weird that you brought up a woman. Almost never happens." John was suspicious that Sherlock knew exactly who it was, so he made sure to quiz him to see if he tripped up and told him everything.

"Well, I don't really remember a thing." Sherlock sighed as he sat down in his chair.

"Anything at all?"

"I slightly remember going into the bathroom, and then I have a picture of me being carried somewhere and then I woke up here."

"And that's all you can remember? Nothing about a woman?" Sherlock shook his head. "Right, well it's probably just me then." John sighed and scratched his head.

"Were you here all night?" Sherlock realised that John seemed incredibly tired. He suspected that he'd just been sat in the living room waiting for him to wake. John nodded. "Why didn't you go home? Or at least sleep in your old bedroom?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright..." John yawned. Sherlock nodded and smiled.

"Maybe you should go home then. Get some rest, spend sometime with Mary." John looked confused. Since when did Sherlock give him permission to leave and live his normal life? He clearly had some information that he didn't want John to know and he was going to investigate everything while John would be at home resting.

"I think I'll stick around. I can help you figure out why you collapsed." John smiled.

"That won't be necessary. I don't need to know why." John knew this was completely out of character.

"What are you talking about? So you collapse and you're not going to question it? You are in perfect health and you just suddenly collapse, out of the blue? And Molly told me you seemed ill. She said you were flushed and you were shaking. I watched you walk to the bathroom and you nearly fell over about three times. So, no." Sherlock stared at John for a moment and John did the same back. Sherlock knew that John knew Sherlock already had an idea of what happened.

"John, I don't know what you want me to say," Sherlock sighed, still pretending that he didn't know anything. "I don't know what happened, you're right. Yes, I was ill last night. I may have spoken about a woman when I woke up, but I don't remember!" Sherlock seemed extremely convincing. John actually seemed startled for a moment as he thought he'd caught Sherlock out and he would tell him that he knew who did it and why. "I am sorry, but I don't want to investigate this. It's not worth my time."

"See, I nearly fell for it then." John laughed. "But you wouldn't just say no to this. You _would _investigate this because that's what you do. Clearly somebody drugged you and you're going to let them get away with it just because you can't be bothered?! That's not the Sherlock Holmes I know. No, the reason you won't investigate is because you already know who did it, don't you?" Sherlock sighed and looked at the table. "And you know why. That's why you've been acting so strange these past few days." Sherlock didn't respond. John knew that the silence meant he was correct, though Sherlock would never admit that. "Who was it?" Sherlock looked to him but didn't answer. "You know, tell me. Who did it?" Sherlock still refused to say their name. "Sherlock, what's the point of keeping this a secret? I'll find out sooner or later. Tell me!"

"Irene Adler!" Sherlock shouted quickly. He realised as soon as he'd said it he made a mistake. John shut up for a moment. He seemed confused. She died, she was dead. Mycroft had told him she was dead.

"You're lying. She died."

"No, she didn't. I saved her life. Oh, and you didn't honestly believe I'd fall for her moving to America, did you?" John sighed and was still slightly confused.

"Wait, you saved her?"

"Yes. I saved her from being beheaded." Sherlock sighed as he regretted even more telling him about her. John realised that he wasn't lying, because she had already used this drug on Sherlock. Well, one like it.

"Wait, so Irene... she... What does she want?" Sherlock shook his head.

"I don't know. She's been trying to contact me, but I've been ignoring her."

"Why?" Sherlock glanced at John. "Right, yeah. So is that why she drugged you; to get your attention?"

"Obviously."

"Right, right." John nodded. "Why don't you talk to him?" Sherlock suddenly looked at John like he was an idiot. John just sighed and nodded.

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**Sorry, this chapter wasn't great, I know! I just lost everything in my mind! I promise the next chapter will be ten times better :) Please review because I like criticism and nice comments :) Thanks **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, sorry about the second chapter :( if you haven't reread it, do it now because I accidentally put the wrong document on :/**

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John soon left and Sherlock was left alone. He knew that he wouldn't be alone for much longer as Mrs Hudson had just let somebody in. A female. The woman. She slowly made her way up the creaky staircase. As she did, Sherlock sat on the armchair, waiting for her to eventually enter and tell him what exactly it was she wanted. "Mr Holmes..." she entered slowly. Sherlock stared at her for a moment. She hadn't exactly changed her image, and she still looked as radiant as she had before. He nodded to the seat beside his and she made her way to it.

"Irene Adler..." Sherlock whispered. She smiled and sat down.

"Why haven't you been answering me?"

"Why do you think?"

"I don't have a clue."

"Well, that doesn't really matter anyway, now, does it?" Sherlock smiled. "Why are you here? Why did you drug me?"

"I needed to be subtle." Sherlock scoffed. "I couldn't exactly walk up to you in the restaurant while you were with everyone as they all think I am dead. If I drugged you, I knew you would go to the bathroom, so I would be able to speak to you in there."

"I don't remember speaking to you."

"Of course you don't, you were more or less asleep at that point." She laughed slightly. Sherlock raised his eyebrow, but continued to listen. "I needed you to know that I was coming over, as I need to speak to you. I would have told you then, but you weren't really 'with it', and a man came in quite soon."

"Ah yes, how did you get past the crowd? John told me everyone had heard."

"I hid behind the door as the man came in, easy. He then tried to wake you up, so I slipped past him and then I walked out. Not very hard, Sherlock." Sherlock smiled sarcastically.

"Alright then, what exactly is it that you want from me?"

"I came to warn you about a man. He's after you, John, and me for some reason."

"Who? How do you know?"

"I know a lot of things, Mr Holmes. I don't know whether you may have heard of him, his name is Sebastian Moran." Sherlock's face lit up when he heard the name spoken. Irene knew he knew. "Who is he?"

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because he's also after me."

"How do I know that's the truth?"

"Trust me or not, Sherlock, he's coming after you." Irene sighed. "Who is he?"

"Sebastian Moran." Sherlock decided he may as well tell her whether she already knew or not. "Moriarty's sniper. One of them. The worlds second most dangerous man."

"And he's coming after us..."

"Well, that's what you've told me." Sherlock smiled. "Why did you come and tell me?"

"You saved my life once; I thought I'd return the favour."

"No, there's something more. I remember you said something to me while I was lying in the bathroom. You wouldn't have come all the way from America just to tell me there's a hit man-" Sherlock paused. Irene looked at him for a moment and watched as sudden realisation hit him. "I see..."

"You see what?"

"You had already come over."

"What?"

"You were already here before you found out about Mr Moran. You must have been. How else would he have tracked you down? It's unlikely that he'd know about you if you were in America if he was trying to kill John and I. So, the question is why had you already come over?" Irene sighed. She faced the floor and then looked back up slowly. "Ah. I see."

"Yes. You've got it. I missed you." Irene spoke as she was being forced to say it, but she did mean it. Sherlock smiled, but didn't say a word. "Say something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, just something."

"How long have you been here?"

"A few months now. I was trying to find the right time to..."

"The right time to tell me that you missed me? It took you months to say that you missed me?" Sherlock began to smile even more.

"Shut up!" Irene smiled a little and blushed. "Did you... Did you miss me?" Sherlock's smile sank quickly, as did Irene's. They both looked into each other's eyes for a moment. "Did you?" Irene killed the silence. Irene moved closer to the edge of her seat. Sherlock blinked and nodded slowly.

"I did."

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**Thanks for reading :) reviews would be great**


	4. Chapter 4

John wandered into the flat. He noticed that nobody was there, which was odd. Where had Sherlock gone? Why wasn't he there? Maybe he was trying to figure things out about Irene Adler. Maybe he'd already figured things out about her. John hadn't a clue. He placed his newspaper down onto the table and then took his phone from his pocket. He searched for Sherlock's number and then called him. He listened carefully, and he could hear the faint sound of Sherlock's ringtone. So, either he'd left his phone at home, or he was still there. Now, he thought that Sherlock wouldn't leave his phone at home as he nearly always carries it with him. However, where would he be in the house? He'd checked nearly everywhere. Apart from the bedroom. But that had never crossed his mind. Why would Sherlock be in his bedroom at this time? What was he doing? Before he even began to think of ideas, Sherlock staggered into the living room where John was stood, confused about everything. He noticed Sherlock was in his evening clothes and his gown, so maybe he had been asleep. "John, did you want something?"

"Uh, no, no." John shook his head.

"Then why are you here, may I ask?" John didn't understand. Normally Sherlock was happy to see him.

"Oh, um, I just wondered if you'd found out what Irene wanted?"

"No, not yet." Sherlock shook his head. John just nodded and sighed, and then they stood in silence for a moment. Sherlock was just about to say something when Irene had decided to come out. She walked into the living room with a robe on also, John noted. Suddenly everything dawned on him. His mouth opened wide as did his eyes when he realised what had just happened. At first he didn't actually believe it. It was Sherlock. What? He was incredibly confused. Sherlock turned to Irene angrily as he didn't want John to know. However, she just ignored him.

"Hello, John." She smiled. John didn't respond. He was still trying to figure everything out.

"John, you can speak."

"Oh... uh... yes, hello." John smiled nervously. He had no idea what to say next, so he blurted out anything he could think of. "Aren't you meant to be... dead?" He regretted saying it straight afterwards. He felt so embarrassed. Irene just laughed and turned to Sherlock.

"I think we need to tell him."

"Yes, well I was going to, I just didn't think this would be the right time."

"Tell me what?" Sherlock rolled his eyes. "Sherlock, what are you not telling me?" John thought Sherlock may tell him about the two of them and whether they were now a couple or whatever they were.

"We'll have to discuss it later. I'll meet you for a drink soon?" Irene sighed as she just wanted him to know already, but Sherlock didn't feel comfortable explaining everything right at that point after everything that had just gone on.

"Uh, all right." John sighed. He was too busy trying to figure out what the hell was going on with everything to really care or pay attention to anything else. They stared at each other for a moment, until John realised that he had been asked to leave basically. So, he picked up the newspaper from the table and left.

"Why didn't you just tell him?" Irene asked as she sat down in the armchair.

"Because he wasn't paying attention. He was too busy trying to figure out why we're both in gowns. This is why I had asked you not to leave. I thought you didn't want anyone to know you were alive?"

"Yes, well I figured that you'd already told him anyway, and you would have had to tell him how you found out about Sebastian." Irene smiled. "Plus, you know you wanted me to stay in there because of what we did and you didn't want him to know. I think he's figured it out anyway." Sherlock sighed and rolled his eyes. He threw himself down onto the sofa.

"Why would you want him to know?"

"I never said I did, but it doesn't really matter now, does it?" Sherlock sighed once more. However, he did see her point. "It was nice though." Sherlock looked at her for a moment like he didn't really understand. "What just happened."

"Yes. Yes, it was." Sherlock didn't really know what to say as he'd never actually been in this situation before; however, he was telling the truth.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it's taken me so long; I'm doing work experience at the mo, so I have to find the time to do that and this, so thanks for being patient :)**

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John waited for Sherlock to arrive at the cafe they had chosen to meet at. Sherlock was never normally late, but for some reason he was this time. John assumed it must have something to do with Irene. He wondered what they had been up to in the flat before he had entered. Could they possibly have been doing what he thought they had? He tried to erase that thought from his mind as this was Sherlock he was talking about. Since when did Sherlock ever do anything with a woman? He wasn't like that. However, it would explain why the pair of them came out of the bedroom with nothing but nightwear and dressing gowns. John quickly stopped thinking about it as he noticed Sherlock walking towards the entrance.

"You took your time." John said as Sherlock sat down on the other side of the table. John had already ordered a drink. He offered to get one for Sherlock but he told him he wasn't going to stay long and that he wasn't very thirsty. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"There's something going on." Sherlock leaned in a little closer so nobody else could hear, just in case. John was incredibly suspicious of his actions and was now confused by what was going on.

"Is this about you and Irene?" Sherlock quickly leaned back and seemed puzzled.

"What?" he almost shouted. "Of course this isn't about Irene and I, why would it be?"

"Well, you were together at the flat today... wearing..." John slowly stopped as he spoke, but Sherlock knew exactly what he was going to say.

"John, do you really want to discuss that now?"

"I thought that's what you came to talk to me about. To tell me exactly what was going on..." Sherlock sighed and rolled his eyes.

"For God's sake, John." He began to whisper again. "I need to talk to you about important things right now, and you've already got your own idea of what was going on. I should tell you that it's probably the correct one, so shut up about it and listen." John seemed quite shocked. It seemed like Sherlock had changed. However, he already knew that Sherlock had feelings for Irene. He had no idea what those feelings were until now. It surprised him a little that Sherlock didn't even deny it a bit.

"Fine; what do you want?"

"We're in danger."

"What? How?"

"A man named Sebastian Moran, that's how."

"Sebastian Moran?"

"One of Moriarty's snipers; the second most dangerous man in the world. He's coming after us. He's finishing Moriarty's work."

"But I thought they were all gone, the snipers? That's why you didn't tell me you were alive for three years."

"Yes, well obviously they're not all gone and he knows I'm alive."

"How does he?" Sherlock sighed and watched as John figured it out. "Irene...?" Sherlock nodded slowly. "What? Did she tell him?"

"No. She came to find me and he found out she was still alive. He then found out what she was doing here and realised I was still alive."

"Is that what she told you, Irene? How can you trust her? She did this to you once before; she was on Moriarty's side, for God's sake! And clearly she's going to do anything to let you fall into her trap!" John quickly shut up as Sherlock began to get angry. "I didn't mean it like that, I just meant-"

"John, right now Irene's the only one with all of the information. You and Mary are going to go somewhere. You can hide until I tell you it's safe for you to come back. I won't tell Irene that I've sent you away, so she won't be able to tell Sebastian if she is with him."

"What? Where are we meant to go? What about you?"

"I'll be fine."

"What? Sherlock, don't be ridiculous. If he's after you then you must get away too! You should come with Mary and me."

"No, I must find out what he's doing." Both of them shut up for a moment. John couldn't believe Sherlock wanted to do this alone, the last time he did he was forced to jump of a building. What would happen this time?

"Well then let me stay with you. I shall help you solve this."

"What? No, of course not. You must stay with Mary."

"Mary will be fine, and she will understand. I will help you. This is my business too, Sherlock." Sherlock sighed. He pretended that he was worried about Mary having to stay on her own; however, he was quite pleased that he would get to solve another case with John.

"Alright, if you insist." John smiled.

"Good, I shall go home and tell Mary to pack some of her things."

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**Thanks for reading, please leave a review; I'm open to criticism :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**_This is like a preview thing :)_**

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"_**Sherlock, are you alright?" John asked as he helped lift Sherlock from the floor. As Sherlock stood John noticed blood pouring down the side of his head and his face was badly bruised. **_

"_**Uh... yeah... yeah..."Sherlock replied. His words came out incredibly slowly and he found it hard to concentrate on everything. He didn't feel like he was really there. John could see that Sherlock seemed confused and out of place, so he tried to help him. John checked the back of Sherlock's head and found that there was blood coming from the top. Not so much, but there was still a bit. He had been beaten up badly. They'd kicked his stomach incredibly hard a few times; they'd punched him, and smashed his head against the wall, so he was in an incredible amount of pain. When they had arrived there Sherlock had been knocked out, luckily John had woken him up but he knew it wouldn't be for much longer. **_

"_**Sherlock, can you hear me?" As John went back to face Sherlock, he placed his hands on Sherlock's arm to try and help him stand up as he could see he was struggling. Sherlock was incredibly dazed and when John spoke his words were muffled. "Sherlock, can you hear me?" John continued to ask, but Sherlock could only hear muffling. He then suddenly began to see double which confused him more. **_

"_**What's... what's going... on?" Sherlock spoke incredibly slowly. John was extremely concerned. He'd already told Lestrade to call an ambulance which would soon be on its way, hopefully. He tried to walk Sherlock over to a seat where he would be able to rest until the ambulance arrived. However, Sherlock's legs ached and he couldn't walk. They were getting weaker by the second; his whole body was. "Where... where am I...? Sherlock began to ask. Sherlock began to slowly close his eyes. John tried to keep him awake and conscious, but it was no use. Everything was aching, his vision was blurry, he couldn't hear anything and he had been badly injured. John could see that trying to keep him conscious was no longer an option. He could see Sherlock was going to collapse at any moment so he called over Lestrade to help him out. **_

"_**Sherlock, are you alright?" Lestrade asked knowing he wouldn't get a response but it was worth a shot. Sherlock began to sway about a little, and suddenly fell. Lestrade and John quickly grabbed him so he wouldn't hurt himself anymore by falling onto the concrete again. They then dragged him over to the seats and lay him across them. "It's a good job you called me when you did. We might have got here too late." Lestrade patted John on the shoulders trying to reassure him that things could be a lot worse and that he did well. However, John didn't see it that way. If he had got there sooner, then things wouldn't be like this at all. It was his fault. If he knew that Sherlock was in trouble he could have go to him sooner. If he just hadn't have left him to do it by himself, it wouldn't be like this. Yes, obviously there would have been a chance that they both could be seriously injured or maybe dead, but they stood more a chance with the two of them. It had only been Sherlock who was against them and he hadn't told John where he was so he could save Mary, Irene and him. **_

_** Eventually, the ambulance arrived. John gave them a lot of information about how Sherlock had been and what had happened. He hadn't really been there to see what had happened, but he could guess. The paramedics were very sympathetic and soon got Sherlock to the hospital. John accompanied him in the ambulance. Mary had called to see how he was, John told her that he was terribly worried. Mary knew he was blaming himself, she tried to convince him otherwise, but he insisted it was entirely his fault. "If Sherlock knew that you were blaming yourself he would tell you that you're talking complete rubbish. It was Sebastian Moran. You aren't to blame." **_

_** Irene also called. John wasn't really in the mood to speak with her. He knew that she had been on their side and he felt wrong for doubting her at the beginning, but he just didn't want to speak with her at that moment. He didn't want to hear someone else blaming themselves. He knew he wouldn't cope if he spoke to her as she was incredibly sorry and scared and she wanted Sherlock to live and she hadn't meant to get them into this sort of trouble. He could hear in her voice as she spoke that she was sorry and concerned. She was extremely upset with herself and that Sherlock had got hurt because of her.**_

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**Thanks for reading, please review :)**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Sorry it's been so long, but here's the 7th chapter, enjoy :)**_

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John had made sure Mary had packed all of her essential belongings before sending her on the train to go and stay with her parents. He'd done as Sherlock had asked and stayed secretive about everything, he wasn't allowed to tell Mary everything just in case she would accidentally slip it out in conversation with somebody. To John this seemed unlikely, but Sherlock wouldn't leave him alone without making sure John was going to be extra careful.

Mary tried to persuade John to stay with her. He'd told her that there was somebody after them and that she'd be best off staying with her parents until they knew who and how to catch him. He left out the fact that he knew who it was and why and how he had got the information. Mary kept asking and asking for him to leave with her, but she knew that she really had no chance in persuading him. Sometimes it did annoy her that Sherlock would occasionally win in these sorts of circumstances even though she was John's wife he'd almost always chose Sherlock to follow. Yes, it annoyed her, but she knew that that's the way he'd chosen to live and she would have to get used to it also. So, John kissed her goodbye and then waved as the train left the platform. "Has she definitely left?" a voice came from behind John. John jumped a little as he spun round to see who it was. Sherlock, of course.

"Sherlock, don't do that." John sighed. "Yes, of course she's gone you just saw her get onto the train."

"Yes, well you can never be too careful."

"Sherlock, Mary has nothing to do with any of this, I hope you know that."

"Of course not, I wasn't implying that she was, I simply want to make sure she is safe. If she tries to follow us or something I cannot guarantee her safety." John smiled with relief; however he could never be sure if Sherlock was actually being honest.

Both John and Sherlock went back to 221B to find Irene waiting in the living room. She was sat on the armchair to the right of the fire reading a newspaper from a couple of days ago. She picked her head up as soon as she heard the door opening. "Where have you both been?" John nearly forgot that Irene may be in on Sebastian's plan and nearly told her about making Mary evacuate. Luckily, however, Sherlock quickly spoke.

"Lestrade wanted to see us about a case."

"Oh, what case?"

"A domestic murder, not really worth looking at." John remembered it was a case they'd done last week.

"Right. Anyway, have you heard anything about Sebastian?"

"I was going to ask you the same." Sherlock sighed as he removed his scarf, gloves and coat. John also removed his coat and sat down. "My homeless network is out looking, but until then we know nothing."

"So what can we do?" John asked, interrupting Sherlock and Irene's flowing conversation.

"Nothing we can do, yet." Sherlock muttered as he sat in his desk chair.

"There must be something! We can't just sit here while somebody is out there looking to kill us."

"What do you suppose we do, John? If we go and look for him now with no information then we will surely be caught and probably killed. We must wait until we have a little more information and then we will come up with something safer." They all sat in silence for a moment.

"Anybody up for a game of cluedo?" John laughed, breaking the silence.

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_**Do you think I should continue? Please leave your comments/reviews :) thanks **_


	8. Chapter 8

"So, will you be staying here tonight?" Irene asked John while Sherlock had gone to help Mrs Hudson find something. John looked at her puzzled for a moment.

"What?"

"It's alright if you do, Sherlock's told me everything."

"Oh, did he?" John was still quite confused. "What exactly has he told you?"

"Oh, don't worry! He just said that Mary has had to go to... America? I think America. Anyway, he said because her sister was sick."

"Oh, yes, yes, that." John smiled and nodded, trying to pretend he actually knew anything about this story.

"Why didn't you go with here?" John froze. He had to come up with something quickly.

"Oh, uh, me and her family, we don't really get along."

"I'm sure they wouldn't have minded if you'd gone if she was sick. And, you could have got away from all this madness." John knew that she was suspicious. He knew that she must realise something is going on.

"Yes, well, Mary didn't want me to go because she didn't want me to go if her sister and I don't get along. I tried to persuade her to let me go so I could take her a gift, but her sister had also asked for me not to be there." John was quite proud of himself as he was able to say it all without hesitation, so it didn't seem a lot like a lie. Irene just nodded and smiled. "Anyway, I am going to take the sofa."

"What? You have your own room here, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah, but aren't you using it?" Irene smiled and shook her head. "Oh right." John suddenly realised what was going on.

"I hope you don't mind-"

"Why would I mind? If you remember, I'm married. I don't care if you and Sherlock are together." John smiled.

Sherlock came back up after an hour to see dinner on the table. Actual food that had been prepared properly and not just the leftovers in the fridge. "What? Where did this come from?"

"I went to the shop." John said frowning at Sherlock.

"Why? We could just go out for dinner."

"Yes, well now we don't have to." John and Irene sat down. They both stared at Sherlock who still hadn't taken a seat. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"No, you know I don't like to eat while I'm on a case."

"Sherlock, we don't even know where Sebastian is; you said your homeless network would let you know." Irene said. Sherlock looked at her for a moment. "You're hardly 'on the case'."

"Yes, well, actually I have been. While you two have been... preparing food... I have been asking around."

"Did you find anything?" John asked. Sherlock shook his head. However, he had been told by somebody where Sebastian would be. That somebody worked for Sebastian and had specifically told him to be at an abandoned warehouse near 221B at eleven at night. He wasn't going to tell Irene and John because he didn't want them to get into danger. Obviously he couldn't guarantee their safety while he was with Sebastian, but he would try.

"Sherlock," John began to discuss the case with Sherlock while Irene was doing something in the bedroom. "Have you actually heard anything?"

"What? No, I haven't."

"Oh right. I thought..." John began to whisper. "I thought you didn't say because of Irene."

"Well, I didn't. I actually haven't heard anything." Before John had a chance to say anything else, Sherlock received a message. Sebastian. He realised that it would soon be eleven, so he had to leave now. "Listen, I have to go." Sherlock said as he got up.

"What? Where?"

"Mrs Hudson asked me if I could go and find something for her, apparently her friend borrowed it."

"What? She asked you to go at twenty to eleven at night to visit her friend to see if she has an object of hers?" Sherlock nodded. John was suspicious. "What is this thing that she needs so desperately?"

"They are her soothers, remember?" John nodded.

"Why does her friend have them?"

"I don't know, she just said she did."

"Since when did you collect things from others' houses just for somebody else?"

"This is Mrs Hudson. John, I'm just popping out, I will be back soon."

"How do I know this isn't to do with Sebastian?"

"If it was I would tell you. The last time I didn't tell you a thing was with Moriarty and I told you I wouldn't do that again, honestly." John watched him for a moment. He thought and then knew that he wasn't going to get Sherlock to tell him the truth if he was lying anyway, so he let him go.

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**Thanks for all your comments and thanks for being patient :) If you like this then you may like another piece I did, it's quite short s/9286030/1/The-Crash and complete :) Please leave your comments/reviews**


	9. Chapter 9

Irene soon came down long after Sherlock had gone. She came wandering in the living room only to find John sat on the armchair staring at his phone. He seemed quite anxious and uncomfortable with something, but she wasn't sure what. She looked around the room for a moment and noticed that Sherlock had disappeared, but where? "Where's Sherlock?" John quickly turned after hearing her speak. She was dressed in a dressing gown and some old clothes but still looked quite pretty.

"I don't know..." John said worryingly staring back at his phone. Irene became more confused and walked over to him.

"What do you mean?"

"He... he went out for a bit, he said it was to get something for Mrs Hudson, but he's still not back."

"How long ago did he leave?"

"A couple of hours now."

"Why did you let him leave? Did you not think it was something to do with Sebastian?"

"I did... but I knew he wouldn't stay and I couldn't follow him because you were still in the flat."

"I would have been fine on my own." John looked at her for a moment, and she knew why he hadn't been acting himself around her recently. "You think I'm with him, don't you?" John sighed and looked down at the phone once more. "John, I promise you I'm not. I came back for Sherlock, and that's how I found out about Sebastian. You have to believe me." John looked at her once more. He could see that she was telling the truth, and he seriously wanted to believe her, but she'd played this trick before. However, now wasn't the time to be arguing and accusing each other of things they still had no proof of, they had to find out where Sherlock was.

"Anyway, did he not give you any clue whatsoever as to where he was going really?" Irene sat down in the armchair opposite to John. John shook his head slowly as he sighed.

"This is entirely fault, I should have stopped him."

"No it's not. Sherlock would have gone whether you wanted him to or not, and you were right not to trust me because of the last time. I do promise you John, I am on your side. So, you need to stop blaming yourself and we need to find him. Can't you call the police?"

"I could try Lestrade." John quickly dialled Lestrade's number and waited for an answer. "Lestrade, I need your help." John began to explain everything to Lestrade and told him why he needed his help.

"Right, I'll get someone to try and track him down. I'll come round and we'll look for Sherlock." John agreed and hung up. He then filled Irene in on the plan and she nodded.

"You stay here." John said as Irene was about to get dressed once again. She quickly stopped and looked at him.

"What? But we need to find Sherlock; we need to see if he's alright. If Sebastian's got him then he's in a lot of danger."

"Yes, and so are you if you come with Lestrade and I. Sebastian's after us all."

"So then why are you going? You could just ask Lestrade to go."

"Sherlock protected me once; I'm not going to leave him now." Irene smiled and nodded.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come? I can help you; I want to see if Sherlock is alright."

"I'm sure; I don't want anymore people to get hurt. I'll call you when I find him." John smiled and headed out of the door quickly as Lestrade knocked on.

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**Thanks for reading :) Please leave your reviews/comments, they seriously mean a lot :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Lestrade and John were both searching out of the car windows as they drove up and down different streets. Lestrade could see how much panic John was in. "Bloody hell..." John kept murmuring over and over as they would drive speedily through streets hoping to see something that could help them find the consulting detective.

"John, we'll find him." John didn't bother to respond, he was in too much of a panic and he couldn't help but think it was his entire fault. He was the one that had just let him go out like that when he knew that Sebastian was after him. He felt stupid after giving into Sherlock's ridiculous lie about going to retrieve something for Mrs Hudson. Why had he done it? Then he began to get angry at Sherlock for going out on his own when he knew that John would have helped him and it would have been safer. "Wait, I'm getting a call," Lestrade quickly answered the phone. "Thank you." John stared at him as he hung up and waited for Lestrade to say something. "I think we've found him," John sighed with relief and began to breathe a little more normally. "However, Sebastian and his group have fled and Sherlock's unconscious. He's been beaten up pretty badly." John sighed once more, but he was still relieved that they had found him.

John and Lestrade finally made it to the abandoned warehouse. A few policemen were already at the scene and were on the hunt for Sebastian and his gang. John quickly ran over to Sherlock while Lestrade was talking to a policeman about what had happened. John asked all the police officers surrounding Sherlock to move so he could help. He had now woken up slightly, but John knew that it wouldn't be for much longer. He helped to stand him up slowly so he could maybe walk him over to some chairs so he could sit down while the ambulance was arriving. "Sherlock, are you alright?" Sherlock stared at him for a moment. He felt incredibly dazed and weak. He also felt quite nauseous and in a lot of pain. John noticed that he had blood pouring down the side of his face. He had bruises all over his face, a black eye, and he'd been kicked in his stomach incredibly hard. The police had also said that he'd been thrown onto the floor before the group fled.

"Uh... yeah... yeah..." Sherlock's words came out incredibly slowly and they were like a whisper. He found it hard to concentrate on everything. He didn't feel like he was really there. John could see that Sherlock seemed confused and out of place, so he tried to help him. John checked the back of Sherlock's head and found that there was blood coming from the top. Not so much, but there was still a bit. "Sherlock, can you hear me?" As John went back to face Sherlock, he placed his hands on Sherlock's arm to try and help him stand up as he could see he was struggling. Sherlock was incredibly dazed and when John spoke his words were muffled. "Sherlock, can you hear me?" John continued to ask, but Sherlock could only hear muffling. He then suddenly began to see double which confused him more.

"What's... what's going... on?" Sherlock spoke incredibly slowly. John was extremely concerned. He'd already told Lestrade to call an ambulance which would soon be on its way, hopefully. He tried to walk Sherlock over to a seat where he would be able to rest until the ambulance arrived. However, Sherlock's legs ached and he couldn't walk. They were getting weaker by the second; his whole body was. "Where... where am I...? Sherlock began to ask. Sherlock began to slowly close his eyes. John tried to keep him awake and conscious, but it was no use. Everything was aching, his vision was blurry, he couldn't hear anything and he had been badly injured. John could see that trying to keep him conscious was no longer an option. He could see Sherlock was going to collapse at any moment so he called over Lestrade to help him out.

"Sherlock, are you alright?" Lestrade asked knowing he wouldn't get a response but it was worth a shot. Sherlock began to sway about a little, and suddenly fell. Lestrade and John quickly grabbed him so he wouldn't hurt himself anymore by falling onto the concrete again. They then dragged him over to the seats and lay him across them. "It's a good job you called me when you did. We might have got here too late." Lestrade patted John on the shoulders trying to reassure him that things could be a lot worse and that he did well. However, John didn't see it that way. If he had got there sooner, then things wouldn't be like this at all. It was his fault. If he knew that Sherlock was in trouble he could have go to him sooner. If he just hadn't have left him to do it by himself, it wouldn't be like this. Yes, obviously there would have been a chance that they both could be seriously injured or maybe dead, but they stood more a chance with the two of them. It had only been Sherlock who was against them and he hadn't told John where he was so he could save Mary, Irene and him.

Eventually, the ambulance arrived. John gave them a lot of information about how Sherlock had been and what had happened. He hadn't really been there to see what had happened, but he could guess. The paramedics were very sympathetic and soon got Sherlock to the hospital. John accompanied him in the ambulance. John had already texted Mary before they found Sherlock, so Mary soon called to see if they had found him and how he was; John told her that he was terribly worried. Mary knew he was blaming himself, she tried to convince him otherwise, but he insisted it was entirely his fault. Later, Irene also called to see whether Sherlock was alright. John wasn't really in the mood to talk with anybody, but he made the exception.

"You didn't call me, is everything alright?"

"Well, we... uh... we found Sherlock."

"What happened to him? Where is he?" Irene did sound genuinely concerned. John started to believe that he had wrongly misjudged her and felt guilty now for believing she was in on it all.

"He was left in an abandoned warehouse. They beat him up; they were going to kill him, so we got there just in time luckily."

"Oh no, is he alright? How bad is he hurt?"

"He's unconscious. He woke for a bit, but soon collapsed once again. We're heading to hospital now."

"I'll come as soon as I can, I'm so sorry this is all my fault. If I hadn't have come back for Sherlock, none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, it's more my fault."

"No, you were just looking out for a friend, and it's hard to argue with Sherlock. This isn't your fault."

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**Thanks for reading :) I know it seems like there's not a lot of Sherlock x Irene, but in the next few chapters there are :) ****Please leave your reviews/comments, they seriously mean a lot :)**


	11. Chapter 11

Sherlock woke up to the noises of machines beeping rapidly and trolleys moving around quickly around the room. He could hear people shouting and people chatting. He quietly groaned as he tried to open his eyes. Well, he opened his left, but got in pain trying to open the right one. He slowly turned to his right to see John sitting beside him waiting anxiously for him to wake. His eyesight was a little blurry as he only had one eye properly open and he'd just woken up, but he could see that John had been there all night and hadn't slept at all. "Sherlock?" John said as Sherlock began to open his left eye a little wider.

"Where... where am I? What's going on?" Sherlock spoke quite quietly and his voice was very grizzly. John coughed a little as he explained what had happened. "So I collapsed? Twice?" John nodded slowly.

"Did they... did they catch Sebastian?" John looked at his friend for a moment. He'd been battered and hurt and was now lying in a hospital bed, and all he seemed to care about was if Sebastian had been caught or not. So, he slowly shook his head. He could see the disappointment in his friend's face.

"Sherlock, don't worry; we'll catch him soon. You need to recover first."

"No... I'm fine." John could see from Sherlock's facial expression that he was not 'fine'. He was clearly in a lot more pain than he was saying.

"No you're clearly not. You need rest, Sherlock." John raised his eyebrow and told him seriously that he needed to look after himself. "Where's the pain, anyway?" Sherlock moaned a little and then sighed.

"Everywhere..." he mumbled quietly. John sighed in sorrow for his friend. Before John could say anything else, Sherlock began to get a pain in his chest. Sebastian had kicked him incredibly badly there and it hurt Sherlock extremely. He screamed in pain and shut his eyes tightly which also hurt his right eye, but he couldn't care less about his eye right then.

"Sherlock?" John shouted as he jumped out of his seat. He quickly called over a nurse who then rushed over and tried to calm Sherlock down. She also had to get a small container as he was nauseous because he'd passed out. However, she soon got him to lie back down nicely and relax.

"Are you alright?" John said calmly as he sat back down. He wasn't calm though. He was quite scared. If Sebastian could do this to Sherlock then God knows what he is capable of. This terrified John, but he wanted to try and stay relaxed for Sherlock.

"No... Everything aches..." Sherlock nodded slowly and began to close his eyes. John sighed.

"Do you... do you remember what happened?" John knew that it may be hard for Sherlock to remember and talk about, but he just had to ask.

"A... little," Sherlock began. "I went in... like he'd asked. I can't really... remember what we said... but he'd asked me why I didn't... didn't bring Irene and you."

"Wait, so Irene wasn't in on it either?" John interrupted quickly.

"From what... I remember from our conversation... I don't think so..." Sherlock shook his head. "Anyway... he had some other mean waiting and they grabbed me. I knew they were there... but they came quickly and grabbed my arms. I tried to get them off, but then I got hit..."

"Alright, you can stop now." John said, putting his hand up to stop his friend. He could see that he was in pain, having trouble speaking and he was tired, so he let him stop.

"Will you... you..."

"What?"

"Just... just make sure... make sure they find Sebastian..." Sherlock slowly drifted off back to sleep which didn't really surprise John. However, what he had said annoyed him a little. John had been there all night looking after him and still all he went on about was catching Sebastian. That's what had gotten him into this mess in the first place, why did he want to continue with it? Could they not just stop for a moment while Sherlock recovers? Obviously Sebastian wasn't going to, but Sherlock could try and concentrate on what had happened to him before he thought about catching Sebastian. Had he not learnt that he can't just keep going after him and not get hurt? He needed to be patient so that everybody could help him.

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**Thanks for reading :) ****Please leave your reviews/comments, they seriously mean a lot :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Soon, Irene arrived. She'd already been the night he'd been taken, but John made her go home because she needed rest. She tried to persuade him to go, but he wanted to stay with Sherlock and make sure he was alright. She'd brought some clothes for Sherlock like John had asked and entered the room. John was surprised. She wore something very plain and not at all eye catching, which was normally what she wore everyday. He realised that she was more concerned about Sherlock than he imagined and that she did care about him. She'd even brought him some food which John knew he probably wouldn't touch but it was the thought. She'd also brought John something to eat and drink which he thanked her greatly for. "John, this wasn't your fault." She smiled to him as she sat down. Sherlock still hadn't woken again so they were fine to speak about this.

"It was."

"John, if anyone is to blame here then it shall be me. I was the one that got you and Sherlock into this mess! If I hadn't have come back for Sherlock then Sebastian wouldn't know he was still alive."

"Then why did you come back?" John didn't realise how mean that sounded before he actually said it, however, Irene was kind about it and she smiled to him.

"Because... because I missed him." she sighed and then bowed her head. "I never thought I'd fall for him, but I did..." she looked to Sherlock. "He is an amazing man, and I just fell in love. Obviously I was a fool at first to try and ignore it and just continue with the game..." she turned to John. "But he saved my life... and so I knew that he maybe felt the same way. I sat, everyday, just waiting for a chance to see him and then I finally decided it was the right time to. And, I did. I didn't mean to get him and you into this... I am incredibly sorry." There was a silence for a moment. John processed everything that Irene had said and smiled at her.

"Had you done what I thought you had when I came in that morning to both of you in dressing gowns?" John said, grinning. Irene suddenly smiled and laughed a little.

"What do you think?" She grinned back. Both of them began to laugh, and their laughter became louder which woke Sherlock up. "Sherlock?" Irene quickly turned to Sherlock as he opened his eyes slowly. John then got up from his chair.

"I'll leave you both alone." He smiled as he left the room.

"Irene..." Sherlock opened his eye wider and Irene went closer to him. She kissed his forehead and then sat back down.

"Sherlock, I was so worried. I thought you were... dead." Irene knew that she couldn't be silly anymore, she was just going to tell Sherlock how she felt because she loved him and she always had.

"You were worried?"

"Don't say it like that."

"Like... what?"

"Like it's a bad thing."

"I didn't... I... it's just... nice." Sherlock tried to smile, but everything ached, but he did his best. She smiled back and laughed a little. Sherlock had now also decided that there was no point in Irene and him playing games. He may as well just tell her how he feels.

"I'm sorry, Sherlock."

"For what?"

"For getting you into this mess, I didn't want to, I just-"

"Irene... don't." Irene looked at him. "This wasn't your fault. This wasn't John's fault, it was mine." Sherlock sighed. "I shouldn't have left you both in the flat and gone off by myself... but I wanted to keep you safe."

"Why didn't you think about your own safety?"

"I just... I wanted to... to keep you both... safe..." Sherlock's words began to fade out slowly towards the end. Irene knew he was probably going to go back to sleep, so she kissed him once more on the forehead.

"I love you." She whispered into his ear as he slowly closed his eyes once more.

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**Thanks for reading :) ****Please leave your reviews/comments, they seriously mean a lot :)**


	13. Chapter 13

Eventually, Sherlock was discharged from hospital. His health had improved quite a bit and he was able to everyday things once again. However, he did have something to protect his hand and it was very badly hurt, but it didn't bother Sherlock a lot. Irene had gone back to the flat as John was going to pick Sherlock up, but Sherlock was worried about her safety. Yes, she was incredibly smart and quite strong, but Sebastian Moran was worse. So, he sent John back. John insisted that Irene would be fine on her own, but Sherlock wouldn't listen. Still, John felt awful if he didn't pick Sherlock up, so Mrs Hudson offered to help. Sherlock tried to persuade her to stay at the flat as he wasn't really in the mood to talk about how dirty his apartment was and how what had happened was horrible. But, she didn't take no for an answer, and so he gave in and she came.

"How are you feeling, Sherlock?" she smiled sweetly and grabbed all of his things. Sherlock smiled and nodded.

"Much better, how are you?"

"I'm fine. Why are you being so polite?" Mrs Hudson knew she probably sounded rude saying that, but Sherlock was never the one to ask how somebody else was; he didn't care. Sherlock laughed which made Mrs Hudson smile. She patted his back and then helped him out of the hospital and into a taxi. He told her he was fine to walk without her help, but she was so worried about him.

Mrs Hudson began to talk about how worried she'd been since she heard about the news, like Sherlock thought she would. However, he wasn't as bothered as he thought he'd be. "I tried to visit, but I was busy; someone came round to fix the heating." Sherlock quickly looked at her.

"The heating?"

"Yes, they came to fix it."

"I didn't know it was broken."

"What? I thought it was you who had called them?" Sherlock realised what had happened. He knew who it was. He quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket and dialled John's number. "What is it?" Mrs Hudson had no idea why Sherlock seemed so worried, and he was too busy trying to contact John to tell her everything about Sebastian.

"John? John, it's Sherlock,"

"Oh, hi, Sherlock-"

"John, there's no time! You and Irene need to get out of the flat, now." Sherlock spoke quickly and his voice was shaking.

"What are you talking about?"

"Just get out, both of you!" John didn't reply. He began to smell something burning in the building, and then Irene came rushing into the kitchen where John was. "John! John, get out!" John hung up the phone and looked to Irene.

"We need to get out," Irene quickly said. John just nodded and realised what was going on, and he followed Irene out of the building hurryingly.

Sherlock arrived soon to 221B Baker Street, which was now glowing. He and Mrs Hudson quickly got out of the taxi and ran over to John who was stood on the opposite side of the street. Lestrade was also stood with him, Sherlock didn't really know why, but that wasn't important right now. John seemed panicked and shocked with everything as he watched the building he'd been in just minutes ago set alight. He turned when Sherlock showed up and closed his eyes in regret. He then slowly opened them as Sherlock waited for him to say something. "I've called the fire service, they're on their way." John sighed. Sherlock wondered why he was sighing, and then he realised. He looked around and noticed Irene wasn't there.

"Where's Irene?" he said, loosing his breath as he panicked and thought the worst.

"She... she went back in. I tried to stop her, but she said she'd left something in there. I told her it didn't matter, but she wouldn't listen and she just went in." John looked down.

"Why didn't you go back in after her? How long has she been in there?!" Sherlock began to shout with worry. Lestrade could see John felt guilty enough already, so he decided to answer Sherlock.

"She has been in too long. John wanted to go back in, but I stopped him; we need to wait for the fire service. She'll be alright, Sherlock." Sherlock shook his head. He didn't believe she'd be alright if she'd already been in there a while. He then decided that he could do only one thing. He knew it was stupid after what he'd just been through, but he couldn't leave her in there. He finally felt something for somebody and he wasn't going to just let it go because of this. He then began to walk towards the building. He began to walk faster and then ran inside. John called after him, but he wouldn't listen. John felt absolutely awful. Lestrade tried to comfort him, but he knew he could have gone to save her, so, he also decided to run in. Lestrade thought they were both idiots, but they didn't listen to him anymore.

"Sherlock, I'm sorry." John said as he followed Sherlock into the burning building. He began to cough a lot because of the smoke, but he didn't leave.

"John, don't be. You need to leave."

"What?"

"I don't want you to get hurt too."

"You think I'm going to leave you to find Irene on your own? In this blaze? I'm sorry for not going after her sooner, but I'm going to help you now." Sherlock sighed. "Now let's stop this stupid thing and look!" Both of them searched everywhere they could get to find her. They had now inhaled a lot of smoke and couldn't stop coughing, but Sherlock just wouldn't leave. "Sherlock," John continued to cough. "We need to go. Let the firemen find her, she'll be alright." John had to cover and move around so he didn't get hit by anything falling. "Sherlock!"

"I'm not leaving!"

"But, Sherlock-"

"John, imagine if this was Mary. What would you do?" there was a silence for a moment and then John sighed.

"Fine," he shook his head like he was being crazy, but he knew, if it _was_ Mary, he would do the same. "Five more minutes!" Sherlock smiled, and then continued to search for her.

"I'm going to the bedroom." Sherlock told John.

"Are you crazy? You won't get through!"

"I can try!"

"Sherlock!" John could see there was no arguing with Sherlock right now. He was letting his heart rule over his head which John never thought would happen. "Right, fine. I'll go." Sherlock turned to him like he was being stupid.

"What?"

"You have already been injured enough, I'll go!"

"John!"

"Sherlock, I'm not going to argue with you. If you want to find her you will let me go and not yourself." Sherlock looked to him for a moment. He didn't want him to go; he didn't want him to get hurt. He wanted Irene to be safe, but he didn't want to get John hurt either. However, he knew that he wouldn't make it, so he nodded and let him through. He tried to help guide him through the rubble as John made his way. He had to jump over a lot of things, and duck a lot. Fortunately, he got there. "Irene?" he shouted. He then heard a small noise coming from inside, so he walked in. Irene was sat in the corner trying to protect herself from all of the rubble falling. "Are you ok?" Irene nodded to him as he tried to get over to her. She had also inhaled a lot of smoke and couldn't stop coughing. "I'm coming..." John reassured her as he made his way over. As he tried to get over something, he accidentally scratched his leg quite badly.

"John? Are you alright?" John closed his eyes tightly and groaned in pain. "John, what is it?"

"Nothing... nothing..." John knew how to ignore pain like this in an emergency, so he shrugged it off quite quickly and continued to get to her.

Lestrade was stood outside waiting anxiously. The fire service had finally arrived and he was informing them of what had happened and why three people were still in there. "How long have they been in there?" Lestrade shrugged.

"About 15 minutes." Before anyone else had a chance to say anything, Mrs Hudson called Lestrade over. She began to see somebody coming out. Lestrade sighed with relief as he saw all of them coming out of the building that looked like it was going to collapse at any moment. Sherlock and Irene had each of John's arms over their shoulders to help him out because of what had happened to his leg. As soon as they got out a paramedic, who had arrived at almost the same time as the fire service, rushed over to them. Another one came and helped John over to a bed so they could check over his leg, and they all got oxygen masks.

"Why did you come back for me?" Irene turned to Sherlock while they sat outside the burnt building on the curb. John was still being treated for his leg and Irene and Sherlock were told to sit and rest so they would be alright. Sherlock noticed that Irene had little cuts on her face and hands, clearly she'd hit herself or something had fallen but she didn't mention it, so he didn't either.

"Why'd you think?" Sherlock smiled at her. Irene smiled and blushed a little. Suddenly she felt like a schoolgirl with a crush and she had butterflies in her stomach. She looked down at the floor and continued to blush. Sherlock stared at her for a moment. She was incredibly beautiful to him. He loved her blue eyes. He loved her dark brown hair. She looked up after realising he was staring at her. He stared into her eyes, as she did his. Sherlock then reached his hand and moved a small piece of Irene's hair from her face and smiled. Then, they slowly moved forwards to each other. The closer and closer they got, the faster their hearts beat. Sherlock moved his hand from the top of Irene's face to the bottom, slowly sliding his fingertips softly down the side of her face. They gradually closed their eyes and their lips touched.

It seemed as if they had gone backwards, but they didn't mind. At first they hadn't been shy and were incredibly fast, but now everything became incredibly real. Sherlock began to feel differently about her, he'd never felt like this before but it felt good.

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**Thanks for reading :) ****Please leave your reviews/comments, they seriously mean a lot :)**


	14. Chapter 14

While Sherlock had gone to try and make arrangements with someone so he could find somewhere for everyone to stay for the night, Irene went to see how John was. He seemed alright, in a little pain, but he'd been given something for it. She smiled apologetically as she walked over. "How are you?" John smiled at her forgivingly and nodded.

"I'm alright now."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for you to get hurt; I just had to get something."

"Yes, what is it that you stupidly went back in for?" he laughed. Irene then brought a small necklace from her pocket. She brought it out slowly and held it dangling in front of her. "A necklace?" John didn't understand why Irene had risked her life for a little necklace when she could easily replace it.

"My mother gave it to me when I was young." Irene sighed. Her smile fell as she stared at the jewel. "Before she died."

"Oh..." John felt awful now. "Sorry." Irene shook her head to prevent herself from crying.

"It's alright... I was stupid to go back for it." John didn't realise that her mother had died; he hardly knew anything about her. He thought she was cold hearted woman, but that was clearly an act because of her past. "It was the only thing I brought with me to England. The only thing worth keeping." She sighed.

Before John could say anything to comfort her, Sherlock came over. "Did you get anywhere?" Irene turned to him, riding her eyes of some tears that, although she tried to stop, had formed while looking at the necklace. She quickly hid it in her pocket as Sherlock came over.

"Sort of," Sherlock placed his hands in his pocket. "Mrs Hudson's got somewhere to stay."

"Well, that's good." John smiled, standing up from the bed he'd been sat on resting his leg.

"And Lestrade has room for one of us. John, you should go, you need to rest your leg."

"What? What about Irene and you? You both also need to rest. And, you've just returned from hospital, so you need to look after yourself."

"Yes, but he only has room for one, and you won't be able to walk far on that leg." Sherlock said as he looked at his friend's injured leg. "Come on, John. You're a doctor; you know that I'm right." John sighed and nodded.

"Fine, but where are you both going to stay?" Sherlock and Irene looked to each other.

"We'll find somewhere." Irene smiled as she turned back to John.

"Maybe my sister could help you?" John suggested. Sherlock quickly stopped him.

"John, I don't think, after the first and last time I met her, that she'll be willing to find me a place to stay." John sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Why? What happened when you met her?"

"He killed her dog." John said, both he and Irene turning back to Sherlock.

"I did not kill it."

"Yes, you did."

"It was already dying; I just... helped it a bit.".

"How did you kill a dog?"

"It was an experiment."

"A stupid one." John quickly interrupted.

"It wasn't stupid; in fact, it helped with the case we were on."

"Yes, but it killed a dog."

"She can buy a new one."

"Sherlock, it's not that simple!"

"Alright, alright. Shut up." Irene quickly stopped the pair from bickering. "Now, Sherlock, where are we going to stay?"

"I don't know." Sherlock sighed.

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**Thanks for reading :) I may not be able to update soon because I'm going away for the week :/ please leave your comments/reviews**


	15. Chapter 15

Eventually, Sherlock and Irene decided to get a room in a hotel for the night. Sherlock still had his wallet in his jacket, so they had enough. "We better go then." Irene smiled as she turned to Sherlock. Sherlock smiled back and then nodded.

"John, have you called Mary yet?"

"No, not yet." John shook his head. "I will do soon." He smiled.

"Right, we'll see you tomorrow then." Sherlock and Irene said goodbye as they got into a cab to the hotel.

As they arrived they stared outside the window for a moment. The place looked quite dreadful, but it was the best they were going to get for the night. They would be able to find somewhere better when they have more time. They both then left the taxi and stood staring at the place for a moment. "It's... alright." Irene said, hesitating. Sherlock laughed and then they both entered the awful building.

"We'd like a room for two." Sherlock said at the counter to the young man at the desk. He was chewing on a piece of gum and seemed disinterested in everything coming from Sherlock's mouth.

"Name?" the man asked as he got up from his chair he'd clearly been sleeping in.

"Sherlock Holmes."

"You're not down..." the man said as he scanned through the computer. "Did you make a booking?"

"No," Sherlock shook his head. "We haven't."

"Oh. Right." The man said, giving Sherlock an awful look.

"Listen, we just want a room for two for one night. Can you do that?" Sherlock said impatiently. The man seemed shocked and stood frozen staring at Sherlock for a moment.

"I'll have to check." The man said as he scanned through his computer. Sherlock began to become weary whether this man was actually trying to help, but soon the man's eyes lit and he looked back to Sherlock and Irene. "We, luckily, have a room for you."

"Oh really?" Sherlock said sarcastically.

"Do you want it?" Sherlock grinned and nodded.

After sometime, Sherlock and Irene eventually got to their room. They stepped inside and glanced around. It seemed the size of a box. The wall was white, well, most of it was. Some of it was brown, and bits of wall paper were crumpling off. There were only a few things in the room. "Well," Irene sighed as she walked in and sat herself onto the bed and patted the side next to her indicating to Sherlock to sit beside her. "It may not be that bad." Sherlock sat down eventually and put his arm around Irene, holding her close to him.

"I suppose. It is only for a night." Sherlock sighed. They both looked at each other for a moment; staring into each other's eyes, neither of them blinking as they were too concentrated in each other's gaze. Irene looked into Sherlock's bright blue eyes and placed her hand on his. Sherlock moved his arm from around her and slowly brought it down her arm and then held her other hand. They sat for a moment, both pair of hands holding, eyes staring into eyes, everything was almost perfect.

"Sherlock," Irene began to speak, but Sherlock then placed his finger on her lips. Then, he slowly removed it and kissed her lips softly. Irene didn't stop him. He placed his hands under her head and continued to kiss her gently. He then began to kiss her neck slowly and softly. Irene smiled slowly as he kissed her tenderly. She let him push her slowly down onto the bed, bringing her legs up from the side. He began to kiss her lips again faster. Irene then removed his jacket. He shrugged it off, not removing his lips from her soft skin.

Both of them lay in the bed holding each other that night. The couple had soon fallen asleep and were cuddling each other as the sun rose. Irene yawned as she opened her eyes slowly. She stretched her arms gradually as she turned to see the sun shining through the window. She smiled as she opened her eyes more. Then, she turned back slowly and suddenly noticed Sherlock wasn't beside her. Her eyes opened widely as she shot up. She looked beside the bed and saw that her clothes were still there, but Sherlock's had also gone. Then, she heard somebody in the bathroom. She sighed with relief as Sherlock came out slowly. "I thought you'd left." She smiled.

"Why would I do that?" he grinned to her as he rubbed his hands together after drying them.

"I don't know." Irene shrugged, still smiling. "Is there any news?" just as she spoke, Sherlock's phone rang. He reached into his pocket quickly and nodded to Irene as he answered it. Irene sat silently waiting for the news.

"John, don't worry. We're on our way." Sherlock hung up quickly and looked to Irene. He seemed panicked and shocked.

"What's wrong? What's happened?"

"They've got Mary."


	16. Chapter 16

Irene and Sherlock sat in the cab on the way to Scotland Yard where both Lestrade and John were waiting. Irene could tell Sherlock was worried. He sat anxiously staring out of the window, impatiently waiting to get there. "I thought Mary was safe? That's why you sent her off." Irene said quickly, breaking the deafening silence that had been surrounding the taxi the whole time they'd been there already. Sherlock turned to Irene as he clicked his fingers in panic and confusion.

"Well, they've found her and they've got her."

"Why do they want her? I thought he was trying to bring you down."

"Yes, well. By getting Mary he can destroy John. And, as you know, Sebastian wants to get rid of you and John because he knows that will bring me down."

"Yes, but John won't leave you. Will he?" Irene seemed concerned.

"Of course he won't. If I don't save her in time... If I don't make the right decisions, then he'll hate me."

"But you _will_ save her. You _will_ make the right decisions." Sherlock didn't seem so sure though, which was odd as he always knew what to do.

"John, she'll be safe. What did he tell you?" Sherlock and Irene had arrived in time to Scotland Yard. Irene and Lestrade waited while Sherlock spoke to John about what was happening.

"He told me that if we don't get there soon, he'll kill her."

"Right, well I'd better go."

"What are you talking about _you'd _better go? I am coming, too." John said as he grabbed Sherlock's arm before he left. Irene heard what they were saying and quickly went over.

"Yes, Sherlock, what do you mean? We can't stay here! Do you remember the last time you went after him alone? You ended up in hospital."

"You cannot come with me." Everyone stared at him for a moment like he was stupid. "However, Lestrade and a few of his men are going to come."

"Still, do you really think I'm going to stay here while he's got my wife?" John mentioned.

"John, trust me, you shouldn't come. If you come, he will kill you. I will tell you when she is safe." John knew there was no point in arguing with him; he wasn't going to let him go.


	17. Chapter 17

Sherlock, Lestrade and a few officers had arrived at an old building where they were told to go. Sherlock told Lestrade he'd better stay back with his men while he went in as it would be stupid to all go in at once. He slowly wandered into the building. Nobody was there except a woman tied to a chair. She was in the centre of the room struggling, trying to break her hands free, but nothing worked. As Sherlock walked slowly closer, he put his hand out to tell her to stop so he could come and help her. He tried to reassure her it was all fine and he would help her. However, he knew that if he tried to help her now, somebody would come out and kill him. So, he waited. And, eventually, somebody did step out from the shadows. Sebastian Moran himself. Mary shuddered in her seat and then was about to struggle once more, but Sherlock looked to her to try and make sure she was alright. "You seem to be better." Sebastian grinned as he walked to the chairs and rested his hands onto the back of it. "You were in the hospital for a bit, weren't you? A week or so?" Sherlock didn't respond at all, he just kept his eyes on Mary to make sure she was calm. "I see you brought your friends? Yeah, I did see them outside you know, I'm not stupid. However, I didn't see John Watson. Or Mrs Adler."

"That's because they're not here."

"Oh, I know that. Sherlock Holmes wouldn't be stupid enough to lead them into my trap. But, who's to say that they aren't in danger right now?"

"Oh, trust me, they're not."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Oh, I'm positive."

"What if I told you I have sent men over to fetch them?"

"Well then, if you did, I would tell you that you wouldn't find them because, if I know them both, and I do, they'll be on their way." Sebastian grinned.

"They won't be able to help you though, Mr Holmes." Sebastian said as he let go of the chairs and stepped backwards.

"Oh?" Sherlock raised one eyebrow.

"Of course they won't. Not even your other friends can help you."

"You haven't brought any of your snipers?" Sherlock said, ignoring his last comment and looking around.

"Nope. I don't need them anymore." Suddenly, Sherlock realised what Sebastian's plan was. He knew what was going to happen.

"How are you planning on keeping me in here when it goes off? I could easily escape."

"Oh, yes, you could. It is only down the tunnel though, it will spread quickly."

"Still, bit of a risk. You could die as well."

"Oh, I won't die."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely."

"Well, maybe you should watch out." Sherlock quickly pulled a gun from his pocket and shot at Sebastian. He didn't move in time. Sherlock managed to shoot his stomach. Then, Sherlock rushed over to Mary and tried to untie the rope.

Sherlock had his back to Sebastian. He hadn't yet died, but he only had a few seconds, and the bomb would soon go off. He managed to grab his own gun from his jacket. He obviously could hardly move, but he shot. Sherlock heard the bang. He felt the bullet go into his leg. He screamed in pain as it hit and fell. He turned to see the gun in Sebastian's hand, but he was now dead. He sighed and panted. He knew he had sometime. He could still save Mary before the bomb went off. "Sherlock? Are you alright?" he heard he say as he panted to get up. "Sherlock?" Sherlock groaned as he pulled himself to untie the ropes.

"I... I'm fine. Don't worry."

Lestrade didn't know whether to go in or not. He and Sherlock had agreed that he would give them a signal or something to tell him when to go in. He had no idea whether Sherlock was in trouble or not. He was about to go in when John came to him out of nowhere. "What's going on? Why aren't you in there?"

"Why are you here?" Lestrade turned.

"Why'd you think?" Lestrade just sighed and nodded, and then turned back to the entrance.

"I don't know what's going on. Sherlock told me to go in when he calls or something."

Lestrade had soon decided he should go in. He told his men to wait until he called them in, and told John and Irene to stay outside. They didn't want to, but they obeyed him. He wandered in holding a gun by his side when he noticed Mary in the chair. He then noticed Sherlock sat behind the chair, so he went over quickly to help. "Sherlock? What's going on?" Sherlock then gestured his head to where Sebastian lay. "What happened?"

"I'll... I'll explain later." Lestrade noticed Sherlock panting. He wondered what was wrong. "Help me untie this." Sherlock said before Lestrade could ask anything. Then, Sherlock moved himself over whilst Lestrade untied the knot.

"I think... I have it!" Lestrade said as he soon managed to untie it. Sherlock realised there were a few seconds until the building blew.

"Good, now get her out!" Sherlock shouted. Lestrade turned to him as Mary stood up. "She's hurt her ankle, she's in shock. Get her out." Mary was shaking.

"What about you? Aren't you coming?" Sherlock turned to look at his leg. Blood was coming from it. Luckily, it hadn't hit an artery, so he was alright for now. Lestrade noticed him looking at it, so he turned to it. "Sherlock! Why didn't you say something? We could have gotten you out by now."

"L... Lestrade, there's no time. Get... get her out."

"What do you mean there's no time? He's dead."

"B... bomb." Sherlock struggled to speak as he gasped. Lestrade realised what was now going on and knew he had to get Mary out.

"I'll get someone for you." Lestrade turned and held Mary. He then shouted to his men to come quickly to get Sherlock out of the building, but they didn't hear him.

"But... there's no more time. Just get her out." Lestrade sighed and took Mary out as quickly as they could.

Lestrade brought Mary out and John quickly hugged her as she cried from shock. Irene walked quickly over to Lestrade. "Where's Sherlock?" Lestrade pointed to the building. "Why is he still inside? We need to get him!" John turned as he heard Irene shout.

"We can't! I can't send any of my men in there; there's a bomb."

"What, so you're just going to leave him?!" Lestrade sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Why can't he come out himself?"

"He's been shot."

"What? But we need to help him." John walked over after he'd sat Mary down.

"What's wrong?"

"Sherlock's still in there." Irene said.

"What? Why?"

"He's been shot, and I can't send my men in there because the building's going to blow."

"John, please, help him." Irene turned to him. She knew that he would help him.

"What? John, you can't go in there! It's stupid!"

"Why?" John considered it for a moment. "He just saved my wife. The thing hasn't gone off yet, I'm sure I've got time."

"John-"

"Lestrade, I'm sorry." John shook his head. Lestrade sighed as John then ran into the building.


	18. Chapter 18

Sherlock slowly opened his eyes. He turned gradually to his right to see John sat beside him, smiling. "Ever get that feeling of déjà vu?" John laughed.

"What's going on?"

"You're in hospital. Again." John smiled sympathetically.

"But... but I was in the building."

"Yeah, but then I came and helped you. It was close too. The building blew a few seconds after I got you out."

"I... I told you not to come."

"Yeah, well you knew I was going to." He smiled. Sherlock smiled a little and then began to look around.

"Wait... where's Mary?"

"She's fine, she's safe. She's at home. She said she'd come to visit you properly when you wake. She wants to thank you for saving her."

"It was Lestrade."

"Without you Sebastian would still be after us." John said. "Oh, Lestrade said he's not going to say anything about it." John smiled as he scratched his head. Sherlock gradually sat up. He panted in pain, but he ignored it. John helped as best as he could. "You're going to be alright, which is good."

"How long have I been here?"

"Oh, about 3 days. You've been waking up a bit, but not for long. Anyway, I told you to rest."

"Right, right." Sherlock then began to look around him, and he noticed Irene sat outside waiting. John saw him looking to her.

"She's been here everyday. I told her to get some sleep, but she didn't want to leave." John smiled softly. "Anyway, I'll tell her to come in before you fall back to sleep." He laughed as he left the room.

Irene came in and slowly sat herself down beside Sherlock. She looked at him for a moment. "I'm glad you're alright." Sherlock smiled and nodded. "I'm sorry..."

"What for?" Sherlock asked.

"Getting you into this mess... Everything's my fault. Sebastian. Mary getting taken. What happened to you..."

"Stop. None of it's your fault. It would have happened sooner or later. Well, maybe not, but..." Sherlock smiled, as did Irene.

"Sherlock..." Irene's smile fell as she looked down to her fingers. She was twiddling her thumbs nervously as she spoke. "I have to tell you something."

"What is it?" he smiled.

"I meant to tell you before, but I couldn't..."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm... I'm pregnant."

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_**Thanks for reading :) There will be a sequel soon! Reviews = yay**_


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